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Regular Session, 2010 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 51
BY SENATORS PETERSON, ADLEY, ALARIO, AMEDEE, APPEL, BROOME,
CHABERT, CHAISSON, CHEEK, DORSEY, DUPL ESSIS, B.
GAUTREAUX, N. GAUTREAUX, GUILLORY, HEITMEIER,
JACKSON, KOSTELKA, LONG, MARIONNEAUX, MARTINY,
MCPHERSON, MICHOT, MORRISH, MOUNT, MURRAY, NEVERS,
RISER, SHAW AND THOMPSON
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To express sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death
of civil rights matriarch, Dorothy Irene Height.
WHEREAS, Dorothy I. Height was born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, Virginia;
and
WHEREAS, after moving to Pennsylvania, Ms. Height was admitted to Barnard
College in 1929, but upon arrival, she was denied entrance because the school had a written
policy of admitting only two black students; and
WHEREAS, she pursued studies instead at New York University, earning a degree
in 1932, and a master's degree in educational psychology in 1933; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Height began work as a caseworker with the New York City
Welfare Department and, at the age of twenty-five, began a career as a civil rights activist
when she joined the National Council of Negro Women; and
WHEREAS, while fighting for equal rights for both African Americans and women,
in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA, presided over the integration of its
facilities nationwide, while also serving as National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Incorporated from 1946-1957; and
WHEREAS, she remained active with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority throughout her
life while developing leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education
programs; and
WHEREAS, in 1957, she was named president of the National Council of Negro
Women, a position she held until 1997; and SCR NO. 51 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, during the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, she
organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi" that brought together black and white women from
the North and South in order to create a dialogue of understanding; and
WHEREAS, with Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Freidan and others, she
helped found the National Women's Political Caucus; and
WHEREAS, in news coverage of the civil rights movement, much was made of the
so-called "Big Six" who led it: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, Asa
Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young, Ms. Height was the only woman to
work regularly alongside them on projects of national significance and was considered the
unheralded seventh; and
WHEREAS, American leaders regularly took her counsel, including First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Height encouraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to desegregate
schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint African American women to positions
in government; and
WHEREAS, beginning March 20, 1965, she wrote a column entitled "A Woman's
Word" for the weekly African American newspaper, the New York Amsterdam News; and
WHEREAS, she served on several committees including the President's Committee
on the Employment of the Handicapped, the President's Committee on the Status of Women,
and also served as a consultant on African affairs to the Secretary of State; and
WHEREAS, she was named to the National Council for the Protection of Human
Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, that published The Belmont Report, a
response to the infamous "Tuskegee Syphilis Study" and an international ethical touchstone
for researchers to this day; and
WHEREAS, in 2004, Ms. Height was recognized by Barnard College for her
achievements as an honorary alumna during its commemoration of the 50
th
Anniversary of
the Brown v. Board of Education decision; and
WHEREAS, the musical stage play If This Hat Could Talk, based on her memoirs
Open Wide the Freedom Gates, debuted in 2005; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Height was the chairperson of the Executive Committee of the SCR NO. 51 ENROLLED
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Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the largest civil rights organization; and
WHEREAS, she was an honored guest and seated among the dignitaries at the
January 20, 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama; and
WHEREAS, other awards presented to Ms. Height included the Presidential Citizens
Medal; the Springarn Medal from the NAACP; the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom
From Want Award; induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame; the Presidential
Medal of Freedom; the 7
th
Annual Heinz Award Chairman's Medal, the Congressional Gold
Medal by President George W. Bush, the African Events Congressional Gold Medal Award,
and she was listed on Molefi Kete Asante's list of 100 Greatest African Americans; and
WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, the death of Ms. Height, at the age of ninety-eight,
was announced by the National Council of Negro Women, of which she was president
emerita, and by Howard University Hospital in Washington, where she died; and
WHEREAS, in a statement, President Obama called Ms. Height "the godmother of
the civil rights movement" and a hero to so many Americans; and
WHEREAS, because of her numerous accomplishments, Dorothy Height will forever
be remembered by the people of Louisiana for her integrity, dignity, inspiration, and the joy
she left in the hearts of all who support civil rights.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
acknowledge with gratitude the generosity, bravery, courage, and outstanding service of
Dorothy Irene Height, and extends sincere regrets and condolences to her sister, Anthanette
Aldridge, her family, and friends on the occasion of her death.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Anthanette Aldridge of New York City and the National Council of Negro Women.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES